ISIS

The Divine Female

Expanded Edition

Moustafa Gadalla

Maa Kheru (True of Voice)

Tehuti Research Foundation

International Head Office: Greensboro, NC, U.S.A.

Isis The Divine Female

Expanded Edition

by MOUSTAFA GADALLA

Published by:Tehuti Research FoundationP.O. Box 39491Greensboro, NC 27438, U.S.A.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced ortransmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,including photocopying, recorded or by any information storage andretrieval system without written permission from the author, exceptfor the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

Copyright 2016 by Moustafa Gadalla, All rights reserved.

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication DataGadalla, Moustafa, 1944-Isis The Divine Female / Moustafa Gadalla.p. cm.Includes bibliographical references.Library of Congress Control Number: 2016900017

ISBN-13 (e-book-PDF): 978-1-931446-25-9ISBN-13 (e-book-EPub): 978-1-931446- 26-6ISBN-13 (e-book-MOBI): 978-1-931446-31-0ISBN-13 (pbk.): 978-1-931446-22-8ISBN-13 (e-book-PDF-expanded): 978-1-931446-32-7

1. Cosmology, Egyptian. 2. Egypt—Religion.3.Egypt—Religion—Influence 4. Gods, Egyptian.5. Occultism—Egypt 6.Science—Egypt—History. 7. Egypt—Civilization. 8.Christianity—Origin. 9. Egypt—History—To 640 A.D. I. Title.

CONTENTS

About Author vii

Preface viii

Standards and Terminology xi

Map of Egypt and SurroundingCountries

xiv

1. Isis: The Mother of Creation

1.1 Her Name 11.2 The Universal Womb 41.3 The One and All—Atam 71.4 Re: The Manifested Atam 101.5 Isis: The Image of Atam 111.6 Isis: The Female Re 121.7 Isis: The Dog Star 141.8 The Heart (Isis) Begets the Soul (Osiris) 15

1

2. The Duality of Isis [Isis and Nephthys]

2.1 The Duality of Divine Intellect 192.2 The Dual Nature of the Creation Cycle 202.3 The Dual Nature of the Universal Womb 212.4 The Two Ladies and The Diadem 23

19

3. Isis & Osiris—The Dynamic Duo

3.1 Dualisms in Ancient Egypt 253.2 Isis and Osiris as the Solar and LunarPrinciples

28

3.3 Isis and Osiris and the Four Elements ofCreation

29

3.4 The Societal Role of Isis and Osiris 30

25

4. Isis: The Virgin Mother of 'God'

4.1 Allegory and Fictional History 334.2 Mary Isis 344.3 Divine and Immaculate Conception 354.4 The Virgin Mother of ‘God’ 374.5 Mary Isis and Child Refuge Into Egypt 374.6 The Divine Sacrifice 38

33

5. The Numerology of Isis & Osiris

5.1 The Primary Numbers of Isis and Osiris (2 &3)

39

5.2 The Primary Generating Numbers of Shapesand Forms

41

5.3 The Musical Dynamo 425.4 The Binary and Ternary Universal Rhythm 44

39

6. Isis' Multitude of Attributes

6.1 Maat 466.2 Seshat 576.3 Net [Neith] 626.4 Nut—Firmament 636.5 Nephthys—Isis’ Twin Sister 726.6 Satet 736.7 Ta-urt 746.8 Mut 776.9 Sekh-mut—The Den Mother 796.10 Bast—The Docile Cat 836.11 Qadesh 846.12 Heqet 856.13 Serket 866.14 Anat 886.15 Hathor—Venus 89

45

7. The Beloved in All Lands

7.1 The Spread of the Egyptian Religion 1087.2 Cosmic Significance of Egyptian Festivals 1137.3 Queen of Marshes 1137.4 Lady of Sorrow—[Cry Me A River] 1157.5 Isis: Lady of Assumption 1187.6 Celebrating Her ‘Birthday’ 1207.7 Celebrating Our (Holy) Mother of the Sea 120

108

8. The Mighty Heart

8.1 Mary Isis: The Cure-all 1248.2 Homage to the Queen 127

124

Appendix 1: Egyptian Cosmology andAllegories

131

Appendix 2: The Universal EgyptianAllegory—Isis and Osiris

133

Appendix 3: Heart andSoul—Metaphysical Reflections

141

Glossary 145

Selected Bibliography 149

Sources and Notes 155

TRF Publications 161

ABOUT AUTHOR

Moustafa Gadalla is an Egyptian-American independent

Egyptologist, who was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1944. He

holds a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering

from Cairo University.

Gadalla is the author of twenty two published interna-

tionally acclaimed books about the various aspects of the

Ancient Egyptian history and civilization and its influ-

ences worldwide. He has several other exciting books and

video series about to be published in the near future.

He is the Founder and Chairman of the Tehuti Research

Foundation (www.egypt-tehuti.org)—an international,

U.S.-based, non-profit organization, dedicated to Ancient

Egyptian studies. He is also the Founder and Head of

the on-line Egyptian Mystical University

(www.EgyptianMysticalUniversity.org).

From his early childhood, Gadalla pursued his Ancient

Egyptian roots with passion, through continuous study

and research. Since 1990, he has dedicated and concen-

trated all his time to researching and writing.

vii

PREFACE

Unlike other books out there, this book will fill both the

mind with comprehensive information as well as the

heart—with the whole spectrum of emotions.

This book explains the divine female principle as the

source of creation-both metaphysically and physically;

the relationship (and one-ness) of the female and male

principles; explanation of about twenty female deities as

the manifestations of the feminine attributes; the role of

Isis’ ideology throughout the world; and much more. This

Expanded Edition of the book is divided into eight chap-

ters and three appendices.

Chapter 1: The Mother of Creation covers Isis’ role in the

creation sequence, being an image of the totality of cre-

ation, her relationship to Re and Osiris.

Chapter 2: The Duality of Isis covers her basic dual nature

as the Divine Intellect as well as in the creation cycle and

the universal womb.

Chapter 3: Isis & Osiris—The Dynamic Duo covers the

combined roles of Isis and Osiris in the development and

generation of all creations in the universe

viii

Chapter 4: Isis: The Virgin Mother of ‘God’ covers her role in

the Divine immaculate Conception of her son Horus, the

Virginity concept, her flight and refuge—together with

her baby son—from the threats of the Evil force, and the

sacrifice of her son’s life.

Chapter 5: The Numerology of Isis & Osiris covers the num-

bers of Isis and Osiris being 2 and 3—being the Primary

numbers of creation and growth; and how these two

numbers generate all forms and shapes, musical harmony

and the rhythms of the universe.

Chapter 6: Isis’ Multitude of Attributes covers sixteen female

deities—being the manifestation of Isis as the female

principle of the created universe.

Chapter 7: The Beloved in All Lands covers the spread of the

Egyptian religion worldwide; how such beliefs live on in

Christianity; and how Ancient Egyptian Isis’ related reli-

gious festivals are being adopted in Christianity for Mary

at the very same dates as the Egyptian calendar.

Chapter 8: The Mighty Heart covers the eternal powerful

impact of Isis on mankind as the seeker for comfort and

cure-all.

Appendix 1: Allegory and Egyptian Cosmology covers how

well crafted allegories are the best—if not the only—way

to covey complex subjects so that information are gained

by all.

Appendix 2: The Universal Egyptian Allegory—Isis and

Osiris covers a shortened version of the story of the Isis

and Osiris Egyptian allegory, with emphasis on the role

ix

of Isis, as the divine female principle, manifestations and

applications. The narrative is shown in broken segments,

each followed by a concise metaphysical evaluation of

each segment.

Appendix 3: Heart and Soul—Metaphysical Reflections covers

the metaphysical aspects of the heart (Isis) and soul

(Osiris) and how a human being is able to achieve the

integration of the heart and the soul within.

Moustafa Gadalla

x

STANDARDS AND TERMINOLOGY

1. The Ancient Egyptian word, neter, and its feminine

form netert, have been wrongly, and possibly intention-

ally, translated to god and goddess, by almost all acad-

emicians. Neteru (plural of neter/netert) are the divine

principles and functions of the One Supreme God.

2. You may find variations in writing the same Ancient

Egyptian term, such as Amen/Amon/Amun or Pir/Per.

This is because the vowels you see in translated Egyptian

texts are only approximations of sounds, which are used

by western Egyptologists to help them pronounce the

Ancient Egyptian terms/words.

3. We will be using the most commonly recognized words

for the English-speaking people that identify a neter/

netert [god, goddess], a pharaoh or a city; followed by

other ‘variations’ of such a word/term.

It should be noted that the real names of the deities (gods,

goddesses) were kept secret so as to guard the cosmic

power of the deity. The Neteru were referred to by epi-

thets that describe particular quality, attribute and/or

aspect(s) of their roles. Such applies to all common terms

such as Isis, Osiris, Amun, Re, Horus, etc.

xi

4. When using the Latin calendar, we will use the follow-

ing terms:

BCE – Before Common Era. Also noted in other ref-

erences as BC.

CE – Common Era. Also noted in other references as

AD.

5. The term Baladi will be used throughout this book

to denote the present silent majority of Egyptians that

adhere to the Ancient Egyptian traditions, with a thin

exterior layer of Islam. The Christian population of Egypt

is an ethnic minority that came as refugees, from Judaea

and Syria to the Ptolemaic/Roman-ruled Alexandria.

Now, 2,000 years later, they are easily distinguishable in

looks and mannerisms from the majority of native Egyp-

tians. [See Ancient Egyptian Culture Revealed by Moustafa

Gadalla for detailed information.]

6. There were/are no Ancient Egyptian writings/texts

that were categorized by the Egyptians themselves as

“religious”, “funerary”, “sacred”, …etc. Western academia

gave the Ancient Egyptian texts arbitrary names, such as

the “Book of This”, and the “Book of That”, “divisions”,

“utterances”, “spells”, …etc. Western academia even

decided that a certain “Book” had a “Theban version” or

“this or that time period version”. After believing their

own inventive creation, academia accused the Ancient

Egyptians of making mistakes and missing portions of

their writings?!!

For ease of reference, we will mention the common but

arbitrary Western academic categorization of Ancient

xii

Egyptian texts, even though the Ancient Egyptians them-

selves never did.

xiii

MAP OF EGYPT AND SURROUNDING

COUNTRIES

xiv

CHAPTER 1.

ISIS: THE MOTHER OF CREATION

1.1 HER NAME

The present-day common use of the name, Isis, is limited

to her aspect of maternal devotion, fidelity and tender-

ness. But she is much more than that—she represents the

divine female principle that includes the creative power

that conceived—both physically and metaphysically—and

brought forth all living creatures.

The Ancient Egyptians looked at Isis as the symbol of the

cosmic feminine principle. This principle encompasses

thousands of the feminine qualities and attributes and the

Egyptian had terms to describe each manifestation of this

feminine principle.

In the culture of English-speaking peoples, a name is

merely a label to distinguish someone or something from

another. But for the Egyptians, both the ancient and

present-day silent majority, a common “name” represents

the resume or synopsis of the qualities and attributes of

an entity. Egyptian common names are the attributes and

qualities of any entity. This will be similar to the English

1

language words for carpenter, farmer, etc., which repre-

sent a specific activity.

In the English language, we refer to her name as Isis,

but the Egyptians had a representative term that recog-

nizes the totality of her cosmic feminine principle. This

all-encompassing Egyptian word/term is Auset. So what

is in this Ancient Egyptian “name”? Let us look at the

meanings of Auset, to demonstrate how a name repre-

sents qualities and attributes.

Auset consists of the main word Aus and the suffix et. Aus

means the source, the power. In mathematics, we say 2 to the

power of 2. This mathematical power is called Aus. The

suffix ‘et’ at the end of Aus-et, is a feminine ending.

In addition Aus meaning the source and the power, it also

means the origin, the cause.

In this regard, we will show Auset to be the source, power,

and cause of the created universe, inclusive of everything

within this universe.

Another interesting meaning for Au-set is The Lady, and

indeed she is the Lady of Heaven and Earth. She repre-

sents the feminine principle in the universe. This prin-

ciple manifests itself in different forms and ways, and

therefore Isis was called by the Ancient Egyptians as Auset[Isis] of the 10,000 Names (meaning attributes).

Several words are derived directly from the Egyptian

name Auset, such as Seta, which means the number 6.

This is very significant because 6 is the ultimate number

of space, volume, and time. The cube with its six surfaces

2

is the model of earth. As such, she represents the uni-

verse’s womb as well as Earth, as we will discuss in detail

later.

Another related meaning to the name Auset is the English

word ‘seat’. Isis is portrayed always wearing a seat or

throne on her head to symbolize her as the source of

legitimacy, which is manifested in the Ancient Egyptian

(as well as the present-day silent majority) adherence to

the matrilineal and matriarchal society. This topic will be

discussed later in this book.

As we have noted, the use of the common name in the

English language of Isis hinders our comprehension of

valuable information, knowledge, and wisdom. However,

to make it easier for the English speaking reader, we will

continue to use the word, Isis, and other Ancient Egypt-

ian names familiar to the English language reader.

The role of Isis as the divine female principle in the Cre-

ation process has been recognized by all. She exists every-

where and is known to all, since time immemorial.

Plutarch made note of that in his Moralia Vol. V,

“Isis is, in fact, the female principle of Nature, and isreceptive of every form of generation, and by most peo-ple has been called by countless names, since, becauseof the force of Reason. she turns herself to this thing

3

or that and is receptive of all manner of shapes andforms.”

To appreciate the roles of Isis as the female principle

of nature, we must find her primary cosmic role in the

orderly sequence of the Creation of the universe.

1.2 THE UNIVERSAL WOMB

To learn of the sequence of creation, we must first review

the state of the universe Before creation.

Every Egyptian creation text begins with the same basic

belief that before the beginning of things, there was a

liquidy primeval abyss—everywhere, dark, endless, and

without boundaries or directions. Egyptians called this

cosmic ocean/watery chaos, Nun, meaning non-

existence. The nothingness that is the source of every-

thing.

Scientists agree with the Ancient Egyptian description of

the origin of the universe as being an abyss. Scientists

refer to this abyss as neutron soup, where there are nei-

ther electrons nor protons, and only neutrons forming

one huge extremely dense nucleus. Such chaos, in the pre-

creation state, was caused by the compression of matter,

i.e. atoms did not exist in their normal states, but were

squeezed so closely together, that many atomic nuclei

were crowded into a space previously occupied by a sin-

gle normal atom. Under such conditions, the electrons of

these atoms were squeezed out of their orbits and moved

about freely, i.e. in a chaotic degenerate state.

This represented the un-polarized state of matter prior to

the Big Bang.

4

The condensed energy in the pre-creation neutron soup

was continuously building up reaching an optimum con-

centration of energy that led to its explosion and expan-

sion in what we describe as the Big Bang, about 15 billion

years ago.

Expulsion forces, which cause all galaxies to move out-

wardly, are opposed by gravitational and contractional

forces, which pull galaxies together. At the present time,

the outwardly moving forces exceed the contractional

forces, and therefore the limits of our universe are still

expanding.

The expanding universe, resulting from the Big Bang, is

like a huge bubble—or better yet it is a type of womb that

contains the whole universe. This expanding universe is

the womb that contains all creation. This is the womb of

Isis—the universal mother of all.

Creation occurs when divine energy is Born in a type of a

womb which is represented by Isis. The womb has several

manifestations. On the universal level it is the space that

contains the universe. It is also the womb of the mother

or the seeds planted in the soil—all these manifestations

of the womb represents Isis.

Scientists tell us that at a certain point in time in the

future, the universe will stop expanding and start getting

smaller. The microwave radiation from the Big Bang fire-

ball (which is still rushing around) will start squashing

down, heat up and change color again, until it becomes

visible once more. The sky will become red, and will then

turn orange, yellow, white, and will end in the Big Crunch,

5

i.e. all the matter and all the radiation in the universe will

come crashing together, into one unit.

The Big Crunch is not the end by itself, for the reunited,

crunched universe—neutron soup—will have the poten-

tial for a new creation, which is called the Big Bounce.

This shows us that creation is basically a process that fol-

lows a basic cycle of birth-life-death and rebirth. We rec-

ognize that this cosmic cycle as the Big Bang followed by

life followed by the Big Crunch; then we are ready again

for a big bounce and a new creation cycle.

Not only that the whole universe follows this cycle, man

and other creatures follow this basic cycle as well.

The main theme of all Ancient Egyptian texts is the per-

petual cyclical nature of creation. So it is not surprising

that the Ancient Egyptian texts, which described the Big

Bang, have also described, in the usual Egyptian symbolic

terms: The Big Crunch and the Big Bounce.

The Egyptian coffin texts, Spell 130 tells us that,

“After the millions of years of differentiated creationthe mayhem before creation will return. Only the Com-plete One [Atam] and Aus-Ra will remain—no longerseparated in space and time.”

The Ancient Egyptian text tells us two points. The first is

the return of the created universe to mayhem at the end

of the creation cycle, which signifies the Big Crunch. The

second point is the potential for a new cyclical rebirth of

the universe as symbolized by the presence of Aus-Ra.

6

As stated earlier, the word Aus means the power of. As

such, Aus-Ra, meaning the power of Ra [Re], meaning the

re-birth of Ra [Re] the creation in the abyss of a pre-

creation state.

The main theme of the Ancient Egyptian texts is the cycli-

cal nature of creation being born, living, dying, and

regenerating again.

1.3 THE ONE AND ALL—ATAM

Creation came out of the state of no-creation. Such a

state of the universe represents the Subjective

Being—unformed, undefined, and undifferentiated

energy/matter. Its inert energy is inactive.

On the other hand, the creation state is orderly, formed,

defined, and differentiated. The totality of the divine

energy during the creation state is called Atam by the

Egyptians.

Atam means the One-ness of all, the complete. It is connected

with the root, ‘tam’ or ‘tamam’, meaning “to be complete” or

“to make an end of”.

In Ancient Egyptian texts Atam means this who completes

or perfects, and in the Litany of Re, Atam is recognized as

the Complete One, the ALL.

Numerically, one is not a number, but the essence of the

underlying principle of number, all other numbers being

made of it. One represents Unity: the Absolute as un-

polarized energy. Atam as the number One is neither odd

nor even but both. It is neither female nor male, but both.

7

Atam is the totality of the orderly energy matrix during

the creation stage, while Nun is the disorderly energy

compound—the Subjective Being. The total divine energy

within the universe is called Nun in its mayhem state and

Atam in its orderly creation state/process.

Atam represents the release, in an orderly sequence, of

the existing energy within Nun, i.e. bringing it to life.

This represents the Objective Being.

The Divine energy that manifests itself in the creation

cycle is defined by its constituent energy aspects that

were called neteru by the Ancient Egyptians. In order for

creation to exist and to be maintained, this divine energy

must be thought of in terms of male and female princi-

ples. Therefore, Ancient Egyptians expressed the cosmic

energy forces in the terms of netert (female principle) and

neter (male principle).

The Egyptian word neter or nature or netjer means a

power that is able to generate life and to maintain it when

generated. As all parts of creation go through the cycle of

birth-life-death-rebirth, so are the driving energies dur-

ing the stages of this cycle. It is therefore that the Ancient

Egyptian neteru being divine energies went and continue

to go through the same cycle of birth-growth-death and

renewal. Such understanding was common to all, as

noted by Plutarch, that the multitude forces of nature

known as neteru are born or created, subject to continu-

ous changes, age and die and are reborn. When you think

of neteru—not as gods and goddesses—but the cosmic

energy forces, one can see the Ancient Egyptian system as

a brilliant representation of the cosmos.

8

Atam, The Master of the Cosmos is recognized in the

Ancient Egyptian texts as the complete one who contains all.

The Ancient Egyptian text reads:

“I am many of names and many of forms, and my Beingexists in every neter [god, goddess]“.

The seed of creation—out of which everything originated

is Atam. And just as the plant is contained within the seed,

so everything that is created in the universe is Atam, too.

Atam, the One who is the All, as the Master of the Uni-

verse, declares, in the Ancient Egyptian papyrus com-

monly known as the Bremner-Rhind Papyrus.

“When I manifested myself into existence, existenceexisted.I came into existence in the form of the Existent, whichcame into existence in the First Time.Coming into existence according to the mode of exis-tence of the Existent, I therefore existed.And it was thus that the Existent came into existence.”

In other words, when the Master of the Universe came

into existence, the whole creation came into existence,

because the Complete One contains the all. All Ancient

Egyptian texts reflect this sophisticated thought that

emphasized a progressive and orderly sequence of cre-

ation.

Creation is the sorting out (giving definition to/bringing

order to) all the chaos (the undifferentiated energy/mat-

ter and consciousness) of the primeval state. All of the

9

Ancient Egyptian accounts of creation exhibited this with

well defined, clearly demarcated stages.

The first stage of creation was represented by the Egyp-

tians as Atam/Atum/Adam emerging out of Nu/Ny/

Nun—the neutron soup.

Throughout the Ancient Egyptian texts, we consistently

find how one state of being develops or better yet

emerges into the next state of being. And we always find

that any two consecutive states are images of each other.

Not only is that scientifically correct, it is orderly, natural,

and poetic. The Egyptians were famous for writing these

scientific and philosophical subjects in poetic forms.

1.4 RE: THE MANIFESTED ATAM

Atam represents the realization of the total cosmic exis-

tence.

The role of Re in the creation process is best described

in chapter 17 of the ancient Egyptian Book of the Coming

Forth by Light—which is erroneously still called the Book

of the Dead, where we learn that Re is the primeval cosmic

creative force, The manifestation of Atam.

In the Egyptian text, Atam states:

“I appeared as Re on the eastern horizon of heaven . . .”

Another version in this ancient Egyptian book reads:

“I am Atam (the All) when I was alone in the WateryAbyss.I am Re in his manifestations . . .”

10

Re represents the primeval, cosmic, creative force. the

manifestation of A-tam.

When Atam is combined with Re (the creative force), the

resultant is Re-Atam, representing the manifestation of

the creative force.

1.5 ISIS: THE IMAGE OF ATAM

We have seen how an orderly creation—in the form of

Atam, the Complete One—emerged out of the pre-

creation chaotic state of the Nun—the nothingness.

We have also seen how one state of being develops or

emerges into the next state of being, and how every two

consecutive stages are images of each other. Nun and

Atam are images of each other, like the numbers 0 and

1—0 is nothing, nil, and 1 means the all.

The first thing that developed from the light of unity of

the Complete One was the force of Active Reason, as He

made two arise from one, by repetition.

This divine active reason thought is the first ‘thing’ of

whom existence may proceed as the act, offspring, and

image of the first—Atam. The ability to conceive—both

mentally and physically—was naturally represented by

the female principle—Isis—being the feminine side of

Atam’s unity. This was confirmed plainly in Plutarch’ s

writings where he wrote in his Moralia Vol. V,

“. . . since, because of the force of Reason. Isis turns her-self to this thing or that and is receptive of all mannerof shapes and forms.”

11

It is Isis being this Divine-Mind or Divine-Intellection, or

Divine-Intellectual-Principle, begins the existence of Plu-

rality or Complexity, or Multiplicity.

The relationship between the master of the uni-

verse—The Complete One—and the mother of creation

is best described in musical terms. The relationship

between Atam—the Complete One—and his female

image (being Isis) is like the relationship between a sound

of a note and its octave note. Consider a string of a given

length as unity. Set it vibrating, it produces a sound. Stop

the string at its midpoint and set it vibrating. The fre-

quency of vibrations produced is double that given by the

whole string, and the tone is raised by one octave. The

string length has been divided by two, and the number of

vibrations per second has been multiplied by two:one half

(1:2) as created its mirror opposite (2:1), 2/1. This har-

monic relationship is represented by Atam and Isis.

Isis’ number is two, which symbolizes the power of mul-

tiplicity, the female mutable, receptacle, horizontal, rep-

resenting the basis of everything. In the Ancient Egyptian

thinking, Isis as the number two is the image of the first

principle—the divine intellect.

1.6 ISIS: THE FEMALE RE

The relation of the intellect to the Complete One, Atam,

is like the relation of the light of the sun effusing from the

sun. The Ancient Egyptian texts describe Isis as being the

divine sunshine, for she is called

The daughter of the universal Lord.

12

The female Re.The Light-giver in heaven with Re.

Isis then is the emanated energy from the Complete One.

As the female principle in the universe, only she can con-

ceive and deliver the created universe.

In other words, Isis is the image of the cosmic creative

impulse—recognized by the term Re. Thus, when speak-

ing of Re, the Ancient Egyptian text says:

“Thou art the bodies of Isis.”

This implies that Re, the creative energy, appears also in

the different aspects of the cosmic female principle Isis.

As such, Isis is recognized as:

The female Re.The Lady of the beginning of time.The prototype of all beings.The greatest of the neteru—[meaning the divine forces].The Queen of all the neteru.

Isis is recognized in the Ancient Egyptian texts as the

God-Mother. How loving Isis is—our God-Mother.

She—the female principle—is the matrix of the created

universe. Matrix being a motherly term, mater-x.

Isis, being the replicated image of the totality of creation,

is the one who contains all creatures. Once again, in

musical terms, we find that between the original note

(produced from the whole length—Do) and the sound

produced at the half point—its octave—Do1, there are six

positions where the ear interprets six different harmo-

nious sounds (Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Si), located at unequal

13

distances from each other. The reaction to all the sounds

of natural tones is characterized by an unmistakable

sense of equilibrium. This sense of balance and harmony

is governed by one of Isis’ female manifestations—known

as Maat.

1.7 ISIS: THE DOG STAR

During the very remote periods of the Ancient Egyptian

history, Isis was associated with the star Sirius, the bright-

est star in heaven, which was called, like her, the Great

Provider. Egypt’s ingenious and very accurate calendar

was based on the observation and the study of Sirius’

movements in the sky.

Numerous monuments can be found throughout Ancient

Egyptian sites attesting to their full awareness and

knowledge of cosmology and astronomy. A systematic

kind of astronomical observation began in Ancient Egypt

at a very early time. The Ancient Egyptians compiled

information, making charts of the constellations, based

on observations and recordings of Sirius and the star that

follows Sirius.

The Greeks, Romans, and other ancient sources affirmed

that the Egyptians regarded Sirius as the great central fire,

about which our solar system orbits. Sirius’ movements

are intimately associated with another companion star.

Sirius and its companion are revolving around their com-

mon center of gravity or, in other words, revolving about

each other. Sirius’ diameter is less than twice the diam-

eter of our sun. Its companion, however, has a diameter

only about three times the diameter of earth, yet it weighs

about 250,000 times as much as the earth. Its material is

14

packed together so tightly, that it is about 5,000 times as

dense as lead. Such a compression of matter means that

Sirius’ companion’s atoms do not exist in their normal

states, but are squeezed so closely together, that many

atomic nuclei are crowded into a space previously occu-

pied by a single normal atom, i.e. the electrons of these

atoms are squeezed out of their orbits and move about

freely (a degenerate state). This is the Egyptian Nun, the

neutron soup—the origin of all matter and energy in the

universe.

The movement of Sirius’ companion on its own axis, and

around Sirius, upholds all creation in space, and as such is

considered the starting point of creation. Ancient Egypt-

ian records state that the commencement of the Sothic

period corresponded with the beginning of the

world—the beginning of a zodiac cycle of about 26,000

years.

1.8 THE HEART (ISIS) BEGETS THE SOUL

(OSIRIS)

Now with the plan of creation being conceived in the

Divine Reason, the next logical step is to bring it to life.

Therefore Isis—the Divine-Thinking engenders a power

apt to the realization of its Thought. The bringing to life

or animation of the creation plan is brought on by the

All Soul, or Universal Soul of the All. The universal soul

was represented in Ancient Egypt by Osiris—the third

in the sequence of creation and the number 3 was com-

municated through him. Osiris is the eternal emanation

and image of the Second Hypostasis, the Intellectual-

Principle.

15

Every stage of creation tends to engender an image of

itself; it tends also to rejoin the next highest, of which it

is itself a shadow or lower manifestation—for Isis is an

image of the first principle and her shadow is Osiris. How

enlightening!

In the orderly sequence of creation, it was the female

principle Isis who after conceiving the plan gave life to it.

As such, Isis is called:

Isis, the Bestower of Life.Isis, the Lady of Life.Isis, the Giver of Life.Isis, the dweller in Neteru.

Isis is the bestower of the universal life force—being

Osiris.

Isis and Osiris are also mirror images of each other. Or,

in other words, the female and male are mirror images of

each other.

On the intellectual level, the female principle is both pas-

sive and active, for Isis conceives the plan in a passive

mode, then she provides life to the plan, thus reflecting

her activeness as an extension of her passiveness, i.e. the

intellect and world soul stand in the relation of active and

passive intellect.

Intellect is as it is, always the same, resting in a static

activity. This is a feminine attribute. Movement towards

it and around it is the work of Soul, proceeding from

Intellect to Soul and making Soul intellectual, not making

another nature between Intellect and Soul.

16

And on the soul level, Isis is the passive soul and Osiris is

the active soul.

Again and again, we find the sequence of creation is based

on one stage being the natural progression as well as

the image of the following stage—and in reverse. From

active-passive to passive-active is the chain reaction (so to

speak) of creation.

Time is presented as the ‘life’ of the Soul, in contrast

to Eternity, which is the mode of existence of Intellect.

However, Soul is an entity that spans various levels of

reality, and we find on occasion the highest aspect, at

least, of Soul largely assimilated to intellect.

The relation of the soul to the intellect is like the relation

of the light of the moon to the light of the sun. Just as

when the moon becomes full from the light of the sun its

light becomes an imitation of the light of the sun, in the

same way when the soul receives the effusion from the

intellect its virtues become perfect and its acts imitate the

acts of the intellect. When its virtues become perfect, then

it knows its essence or self and the reality of its substance.

The combined forces of the divine mind and divine soul

make the creation of the natural world possible. Isis as

the Divine-Intellectual-Principle has two Acts—that of

upward contemplation of The One and that of ‘genera-

tion’ towards the lower All Soul. Likewise, the All-Soul

has two Acts: it at once contemplates the Intellectual

Principle and ‘generates’ in the bounty of its own per-

fection the Nature-Looking and Generative Soul, whose

operation it is to generate or fashion the lower, the mate-

rial Universe upon the model of the Divine-Thoughts, the

17

‘Ideas’ laid up within the Divine-Mind. The All-Soul is the

mobile cause of movement as well as of Form, or mater-

ial or sense-grasped Universe, which is the Soul’s Act and

emanation, image and ‘shadow’.

With the combined forces of female and male energies,

the creation plan can come to life.

18

CHAPTER 2.

THE DUALITY OF ISIS [ISIS AND

NEPHTHYS]

2.1 THE DUALITY OF DIVINE INTELLECT

Earlier we found that the intellectual powers of Isis led

to the conception and creation of the animated soul that

we call Osiris. But duality also exists in the intellectual

realm of Isis whose symbolic number is 2 and its multi-

plications.

The dual complimentary nature of intellect is in its ability

to analyze what is followed or to lead to the ability to rec-

oncile. This dual nature of intellect was symbolized by the

two sisters: Isis and Nephthys. Isis and Nephthys are por-

trayed as “sisters” to highlight their numerous dual sym-

bolism/activities.

Isis is represented by the cobra, while Nephthys is repre-

sented by the vulture.

The mighty cobra, which can swallow a huge animal and

digest it, was for Egyptians the earthly manifestation of

the divine intellect. The faculty of intellect allows a per-

19

son to break down a whole (complex issue/body) into its

constituent parts, in order to digest it.

The intellectual symbolism of the cobra is complimented

by the vulture’s primordial reconciliation. Reconciliation

is also a feminine aspect of the universe.

Intellect requires the ability to analyze (break up) and rec-

onciliation and assimilation.

2.2 THE DUAL NATURE OF THE CREATION

CYCLE

The two female deities Isis and Nephthys appear together

in numerous places in the Egyptian records. They always

almost depicted together and very rarely are depicted

individually.

They may be considered Twin Sisters—or better yet, the

dual nature of the female principle.

In the tomb of Queen Nefertari, we find the rejuvenated

green solar deity in a mummiform body.

20

On the right, by Isis, we read:

This is Re who comes to rest in Osiris.

On the left by Nephthys, we read:

This is Osiris who comes to rest in Re.

Egyptian texts refer to Re and Osiris asthe Twin Souls.

The two male deities of Re and Osiris have a counterpart

in the dual female nature of the creation cycle, namely theTwin Sisters.

2.3 THE DUAL NATURE OF THE UNIVERSAL

WOMB

On the cosmic level, Isis represents multiplication, fer-

tility, and enlarging the womb of a mother or the huge

enlarging bubble that we call the universe. Her sister

Nephthys ensures the orderly and harmonic expansion

by establishing outer boundaries or limitations on the

expansion. They both ensure an orderly expansion and

contraction (divine energies) between the Big Bang and

the Big Crunch.

On the universal level, Isis represents the active expand-

ing womb that is called the universe, and her twin sister

Nephthys represents the outer limits or perimeter of the

universal bubble.

The twin sisters are mirror images of each other. Isis rep-

resents the part of the world that is visible, while Neph-

thys represents that which is invisible.

Isis and Nephthys represent respectively the things that

21

are and the things that are yet to come into being, the

beginning and the end, birth and death, life and death.

Isis symbolizes birth, growth, development and vigor.

Nephthys represents death, decay, diminution and immo-

bility. Nephthys represents death, and is associated with

the coming into existence of the life that springs from

death. Isis and Nephthys were, however, associated insep-

arably with each other, and in all the important matters

which concern the welfare of the deceased they acted

together, and they appear together in bas-reliefs and

vignettes.

Since As Above So Below, the dual action of the two sis-

ters on the cosmic level are found on earth, and one of

their dual manifestations is their representation of fertil-

ity of the Land of Egypt.

Isis represents the fertile portions of earth, while her sis-

ter, Nephthys, represents the barren perimeter of fertility.

In his Moralia Vol. V, Plutarch explained it:

. . .the Egyptians hold and believe the earth to be thebody of Isis, not all of it, but so much of it as the Nilecovers, fertilizing it and uniting with it. . . The out-most parts of the land beside the mountains and bor-

22

dering on the sea the Egyptians call Nephthys. This iswhy they give to Nephthys the name of “Finality”.

Isis, in several of her 10,000 names, is called:

Creatress of green things.Green goddess, whose green color is like unto the green-ness of the earth.Lady of abundance.Lady of Green Crops.The Green Netert (Uatchet).

At the end of the green areas that are full of life is Neph-

thys, whose name of ‘finality’ means complete, conclusive,

settled.

2.4 THE TWO LADIES AND THE DIADEM

The twin sisters had a major role in king-making. In one

of the many attributes of Isis, she is called,

The Maker of Kings.Isis, who delivereth to the king his rank, without whomno king can exist.

In the Ancient Egyptian texts, the King declares that he

owes his sovereignty to the favor of the Sisters Pair—Isis

and Nephthys. Their symbolic representations are found

on the famous diadems worn by the Egyptian Pharaohs.

One of the Egyptian King’s titles

was Lord of the diadem of the vul-

ture and of the serpent. The dia-

dem, combining the serpent and

vulture, was the earthly symbol

23

of the divine man, the King. The diadem consisted of

the serpent (symbol of the divisive intellectual function),

and the vulture (symbol of the reconciliation function).

The divine man must be able both to distinguish and to

reconcile. Since these dual powers reside in man’s brain,

the form of the serpent’s body follows the actual physi-

ological sutures of the brain, in which these particularly

human faculties are seated.

Located in the middle of the forehead, the diadem repre-

sents the third eye, with all its metaphysical powers.

24